Horncastle LIVES calls for communities to back campaign

Horncastle based charity LIVES is calling on businesses, schools and villages to mount a final bid to help achieve a target for new defibrillators.

Founded 45 years ago, the life-saving organisation has been working to spread awareness about the importance of CPR and emergency care.

At the beginning of 2015, the charity aimed to encourage 45 schools, 45 businesses and 45 rural villages to purchase defibrillators but the target has yet to be reached.

Currently, the charity has sold seven defibrillators to schools, 19 to Lincolnshire villages and 22 to local businesses.

Defibrillators are extremely important in rural areas and provide a vital life-line in the minutes before ambulance crews arrive at the scene of an accident or emergency, helping to increase the chance of saving a person’s life.

Stephen Hyde, fundraising manager at LIVES, said: “We are really pleased to have a further 48 defibrillators installed in businesses, schools and villages across Lincolnshire and a further 38 pending delivery – but we are still pushing to reach our target and spread awareness about the importance of defibrillators.

“Through our 45th anniversary campaign, we have managed to achieve so much and help even more people learn about the amazing work of our volunteers and team.

“However, we are still working towards our target of getting defibrillators into 45 schools, 45 businesses and 45 villages – and we hope local communities will get behind us.”

○Further details are available from www.lives.org.uk and look out for the charity’s Twitter hashtag #LIVES45.